Sam Dastyari was harassed by members of a far-right group in a Melbourne bar, who called him a ‘terrorist’.
Photograph: None

The Labor senator Sam Dastyari has been abused in a Melbourne bar by a far-right group.

The ugly scene in the Victoria University student bar on Wednesday evening was set up, captured by the group on video and posted on Facebook. Dastyari later described the verbal assault as “the sickening face of white nationalists”.

The group approached Dastyari, who is of Iranian heritage, and began abusing the high-profile senator, first referencing his controversial political fundraising with Chinese donors. The verbal attack spiralled, with one man saying: “Why don’t you go back to Iran, you terrorist?”

As the senator ordered drinks, one of the group said: “Have another drink mate, is it halal certified?”

Dastyari kept his reaction to the verbal onslaught low key, but he told the men he wouldn’t engage: “I think you guys are a bunch of racists. You are embarrassing yourself.”

The barman observed during the exchange that: “Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel”.

After watching the verbal abuse for several minutes, fellow Labor MP, Tim Watts then rounded on the group, asking: “What race is dickhead?”

Dastyari told the Nine Network on Thursday: “They are the sickening face of white nationalists in this country. What’s happening is our politics is heading into a very, very ugly place. It makes me feel small, makes me feel horrible, it makes you feel kind of terrible and that’s what they are designed to do.”

Dastyari is considering a legal response to the incident, which may have infringed Victorian race discrimination laws.

Islamophobia and racism were getting worse in Australia on both the left and right of politics, he said.

“I worry about all the people out there that have to put up with all this kind of abuse who don’t have the structures that someone like I’m lucky enough to have.”

In a Q&A session at the pub with fellow Labor MP Tim Watts, Dastyari said he was regularly subjected to similar incidents because he was a Muslim.

“All of this is the rise of the radical right in this country, it is the rise of One Nation right,” Dastyari said. “These are people who feel incredibly empowered because of what Pauline Hanson has done for them.

“You dance so far to the right that it gives those a little bit further out a sense of entitlement.”

Responding to the incident, Hanson offered no criticism of the group behind the abuse. She instead blamed Dastyari who she said was “a waste of space” and called him “a little Mr Bean” and “a smartarse”.

“In my time, did I throw it back to anyone, no I didn’t, I stood my ground for what I believed in and I think he is just using this to get publicity to sell his book, I don’t see anything in this, I really don’t,” she said from Queensland.

“I think it is a pretty sad and disgraceful day in Australian politics, when this sort of behaviour, this sort of racist bullying behaviour is not called out and condemned by political leaders and particularly by Senator Pauline Hanson,” she said.

“I think her comments in response where what she does is actually blame the victim, just demonstrates that she is a political leader who is after scoring political cheap shots, not actually about uniting Australians, not actually about demonstrating that we are better than this and we can be so much better than this and we should be focussed on coming together as a people and as a nation to ensure that we are focussed on the great opportunities and optimism ahead of us.”

Dastyari said he regularly is followed by white nationalists. But speaking to The Today Show on Thursday, the senator left things on a lighter note.

“They went to a bar and didn’t even stay for a drink,” he said. “What kind of patriots are they?”